Booknotes: Occupied Vicksburg

New Arrival:
• Occupied Vicksburg by Bradley R. Clampitt (LSU Press, 2016).

The Union Army and Navy's year-long campaign to capture Vicksburg, Mississippi ended with the surrender of the Hill City in July 1863. However, the town's role in the conflict did not end that summer. For the rest of the war, Vicksburg was a sanctuary for black and white refugees and also an important base for further Union operations into the interior. Clampitt's study is the first one to examine the Union occupation in depth.

From the description: "In Occupied Vicksburg, Clampitt shows that following the Confederate withdrawal, Federal forces confronted myriad challenges in the city including filth, disease, and a never-ending stream of black and white refugees. Union leaders also responded to the pressures of newly free people and persistent guerrilla violence in the surrounding countryside. Detailing the trials of blacks, whites, northerners, and southerners, Occupied Vicksburg stands as a significant contribution to Civil War studies, adding to our understanding of military events and the home front."